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Abstract
A diet rich in plant lignans has been suggested to have anti-cancer properties. Also selected probiotics are suggested to have anti-tumour activity. In the current study the interactions between the plant lignan 7-hydroxymatairesinol (HMR) and five selected probiotic microorganisms was investigated. The results showed that presence of HMR affected the growth of Lactobacillus johnsonii La1. Compared with the control, the growth was slower during the exponential growth phase when L. johnsonii La1 was cultured in the presence of HMR. Differences in the growth of the other four microorganisms were not statistically significant. The in vitro adhesion of L. casei Shirota to intestinal mucus was found to be more than doubled after growth in the presence of HMR. No conversion of HMR was observed by any of the five tested strains. The data obtained from these experiments suggest that plant lignans have some influence on probiotics. However, the mechanisms and the in vivo relevance of these interactions have yet to be resolved. The tested probiotics do not participate in the conversion of plant lignans to their biologically active form.
